Sometimes, motivation comes to you in the most interesting places. For Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dolores Catania, she found her weight loss inspo in costar Teresa Giudice‘s daughter, Milania Giudice. The 48-year-old reality star dished to Life & Style exclusively about her quick transformation and how the 14-year-old influenced her journey.

“People around me that I know have been losing weight,” the Bravo babe revealed what got her motivated to lose the weight. “Actually two young girls — my niece Sarah and Milania Giudice. She lost so much weight and she’s still losing weight. She’s going to the gym with her mother, and I was like ‘Oh you know what? I really need to get on it.’ I’m like ‘Look at them, why can’t I just do it?’ I was getting heavier — I go up and down in weight, I had to stop.”

According to Dolores, the thing that really helped her get into gear was a 45-day diet program with Elite Health Center, one that was regimented and not for the faint of heart. Talk about putting the pedal to the metal.

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Thanks to @elitehealthcenternj I was able to lose 25 pounds in 45 days on their HCG program! Mike, the weight management specialist was such a help from start to finish. His guidance and coaching throughout really made this weight loss program an amazing experience! I still have a couple of pounds to go, so stay tuned to see what else Elite Health Center NJ has in store for me! Call or Text 201-497-2003 #hcg #hcgdiet #hcgresults #dietplan #fitfam#goals #bravo #rhonj #bodygoals #realhousewivesofnj #healthy #weightloss #myweightlossjourney #fitnessjourney #energy @eliteheathcenter.ny #weightlosstransformation #weightlossinspiration #elitehealthcenternj #elitehealthcenterny #bodytransformation #nutritionalcoaching #antiaging

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“I had to eliminate all sugars, all carbs, oil,” the NJ native revealed. “The other thing, I knew when I started this diet that being committed to not only the ingredients and the diet you’re eating every day but the fact that you can not tempt yourself to go out. Because you know if you go to a restaurant, it’s for food. So I told my boyfriend David [Principe], ‘Us going out to eat three nights a week is over.’ So he didn’t believe me. Frank Catania didn’t believe me. Everybody laughed at me, made fun of me.”

“You’re restricted to a 750-calorie a day diet,” she continued. “I really, really was motivated, I really wanted to do it. Unfortunately, I was so busy, I didn’t get to work out. Had I worked out during this diet, I probably would’ve lost another six or seven pounds.”

Well, it definitely sounds like an intensive process! We’re pretty proud of the mom of two and how much progress she’s made in such a short time — but it seems like she knows how much change can be made when you put your mind to it.

“This is not for someone who is not committed. I did not want to spend my summer with the weight that I put on over the winter. This is what I needed to get my summer body before summer was over,” she revealed. “Weight does not come off easily as you get older, it just doesn’t. Back when we were younger, we could lose it quick. I knew that this was the diet for me to get my kick-start for the summer and lose the weight that I needed within a month or so. Forty-five days goes by very fast.”

With reporting by Diana Cooper.